An Introduction to Paper to CAD Conversion

Have you ever heard about the term "paper to CAD", if not, then this article is a must read for you. I am writing this article to provide all the people like you with an introduction to what paper to CAD conversion is and how it is done.

Before I begin explaining in detail about paper to CAD conversion I will like to tell you that paper to CAD conversion is also known by lot of other synonyms like PDF to CAD conversion, PDF to DWG conversion, and scan to CAD etc.

What is "CAD"?

Since this article has been written for people who are completely new to the topic, I’ll first like to start with little details on “what is CAD”. CAD is an acronym or short form for Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting. However, for a layman CAD is basically thought to be just a computer drawing software used for making digital drawings.

CAD itself is not a software but a technology. Since the evolution of CAD many CAD softwares have been introduced. But the one which is widely used and is most famous is known as AutoCAD. AutoCAD has become an industry standard for CAD drawings. However since AutoCAD or other similar CAD software are very complex to use it requires special training before one can fully understand and utilize the advanced functionalities of the software. Apart from AutoCAD some other popular CAD softwares are Microstation and Vectorworks.

What is "Paper"?

By paper or paper drawings we mean to say that the drawings that are hand drawn on paper. Before the evolution and widespread use of CAD all drawings were hand drawn on paper. But ever since the use of CAD the scenario has completely changed, now all the drawings are made in digital format with the help of CAD software.

Paper drawings are also referred to as hard copy drawings.

What is paper to CAD?

There are basically two approaches that can be used for paper to CAD conversion. The first and the most basic approach is to manually redraw the paper drawings. This is done by trained CAD drafters.

The second approach is known as automatic conversion. This is done by scanning the paper drawings into image format, and then using a raster to vector conversion software to automatically convert the image files into CAD format. However this method is not 100% automated and the accuracy of the output varies from one software to the other.

What’s the need for paper to CAD?
There can be various different reasons why paper to CAD conversion is required. CAD format drawings are easier to store and edit and are not subject to wear and tear over time as is the case with the conventional paper drawings.

Author is an expert CAD conversion professional who has been doing PDF to DWG or PDF to CAD conversions since past several years.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6301514

The Background of CAD Conversion

Paper to CAD conversion or CAD format conversion has become quite essential and an integral part of several automobile, construction, mechanical and electrical organizations. If you are not aware of what does the term “Paper to CAD Conversion” means than you’ll have to first understand little bit about CAD. CAD stands for Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting. In the past when tools and software like CAD were not available, all the technical drawing or drafting was done with the help of various tools and instruments that would measure, create arcs and circles, and many more such tasks.

But the designing and drafting has been revolutionized ever since the introduction of CAD. Now almost all the designs and drafts are made using the CAD. The use of CAD has resulted in greater precision, accuracy, and ease of design. Earlier in the past all of the drawings were drawn by hand on a set of paper or blueprints. These paper drawings had all the necessary instructions and information to guide people in accurately designing a product or structure. But all this has changed now and CAD has become the industry standard.

So, if all the drawings are being made using CAD now then why is paper to CAD conversion required? The answer to this question is – paper to CAD conversion if required because there are still a lot of paper drawings that need to be edited and preserved for future reference. And paper to CAD file conversion is used to convert all those paper drawings into digital formats that can be easily edited and used in future without worrying about the wear and tear of the drawings as is the case with paper drawings.

There are a lot of reasons why more and more organizations are using paper to CAD conversion and getting their old paper drawings converted to digital CAD formats. Since there are still a huge number of paper drawings that need to be converted into digital formats, CAD conversions will remain in demand in the years to come.

Outsourcing CAD Drafting and CAD Conversion

Today, all the architecture, engineering and construction companies and their projects depend on correct CAD design. And more and more such companies are utilizing the power of CAD outsourcing. Apart from the biggest advantage of cost cutting, CAD outsourcing also results in better project delivery and management. But you should always outsource your CAD requirements to an outsourcing company that delivers the project with globally accepted standards.



CAD drafting and conversion services play a very important role in architecture, construction, automobile, electrical & mechanical design. The role of CAD outsourcing companies is to convert blue prints and hand drawn drawings into editable digital formats.



CAD services are also used in civil engineering. The most essential feature of a CAD drawing is its accuracy because the whole design and development of a product/structure mainly depends on these drawings.



India has become an outsourcing hotspot for IT and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) and organizations across the world are now outsourcing their CAD projects to Indian CAD companies. The biggest plus of outsourcing to a country like India is the fact that India has a huge pool of trained and skilled manpower and thus offers high quality services at very affordable prices.



CAD outsourcing to India is highly affordable and helps companies in saving both time and money. Outsourcing your CAD services to a professional company will help you in concentrating more on the strategic aspect than the functional aspects of day to day workings. This will help you in growing your business and race ahead of the competitors.



CAD outsourcing helps an organization gain professional service and technical/functional edge over the competitors. Lower cost, enhanced performance, reliability and accuracy are some of the other important aspects of CAD outsourcing.



Author is an experienced CAD professional and frequently writes for and evaluates the CAD services India. The requirement for CAD drafting and CAD conversion (like DWG to DGN conversion) is increasing day by day and there are lot of service providers in the market but you should always choose the one with a good past record.

PDF to DWG Conversion

What is a PDF File?
PDF (Portable Document Format) is an open standard for document exchange. PDF files are independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system. Each PDF file can contain text, fonts, images, and 2D vector graphics. Acrobat 3D can be used for embedding 3D drawings in PDF documents. The PDF file format is very famous for sharing information, especially in the cases when the author does not want that information to be modified easily.

What is a DWG File?
DWG ("drawing") is a binary file format used for storing 2 and 3 dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including AutoCAD.

What is the Problem?
PDF meets the basic needs, be being platform independent and a thin layer of data security. But the major problem with PDF files is that fact that PDF files cannot be easily modified, especially if you want to modify the document layer by layer.

What is the Solution?
The solution of this problem is “PDF to DWG Conversion”. Term "PDF to DWG" means the process of converting a PDF file into AutoCAD format i.e. the DWG format. If you have any PDF files with CAD drawings inside then you need to not worry as these PDF files can be converted into re-usable, editable DWG files.

There are basically 3 ways of to convert PDF files into DWG files: automatic, semi-automatic, and manual. In automatic conversion a software or converter automatically converts the PDF files to DWG files. But this approach has a major disadvantage; most of the CAD conversion software can not recognize text, patterns and dimension lines. As a result of which the resulting DWG files often contain a mess of lines and dots instead of circles, lines, arcs and text as text separated into several layers.

In the semi-automatic approach a professional draftsmen manually corrects the errors produced by automatic conversion.

The third and probably the most efficient approach require experienced draftsmen to complete redraw the original drawing using AutoCAD.

The biggest advantage of using the manual approach is the fact that converted files are multi-layered and completely editable. Generally CAD conversion companies employ AIA layering standards, you should look for the one that is ready to employ your layering standards if need be.
Always look for an AutoCAD conversion company that can convert PDF to DWG and vice-versa.

What is the Need to Convert DGN files to DWG Format

DGN (Design) is the name used for CAD file formats supported by Bentley Systems' MicroStation and Intergraph's Interactive Graphics Design System (IGDS) CAD programs. A DGN file is a vector image file associated with MicroStation 2 and 3-dimensional design software.

Although DGN is not as widely-used as Autodesk's DWG, it is nevertheless mission critical in many large projects, including buildings, highways, bridges, process plants, shipbuilding. The DGN extension is short for "design." DGN files can be opened by Bentley Systems MicroStation or the free Bentley View program. The DGN format is also supported by several other third-party programs.

DWG ("drawing") is a binary file format used for storing two and three dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including AutoCAD, IntelliCAD (and its variants) and Caddie. In addition, DWG is supported non-natively[2] by many other CAD applications. The .bak (drawing backup), .dws (drawing standards), .dwt (drawing template) and .sv$ (temporary automatic save) files are also DWG files.

The DWG format is probably the most widely used format for CAD drawings. Autodesk estimates that in 1998 there were in excess of two billion DWG files in existence.

2D/3D drawing format used by MicroStation construction design software; based on either the Intergraph Standard File Format (ISFF) or the newer V8 DGN standard; can be converted to the more universal .DWG format by expert CAD conversion professionals. DGN files can be converted to DWG format to view and work on them in AutoCAD design software.

Since DWG format is one of the most widely used format for CAD drawings, more and more people and organizations are getting their DGN files converted to DWG files. If you are also looking to convert DGN to DWG format then you should always look for a company that specializes in CAD conversions.